This invention relates to stringed musical instruments, and, more particularly, to a slide system worn on the fretting hand of the player of a guitar.
In conventional guitar playing, the player holds the guitar and uses the picking hand to pluck or strum the strings and the fretting hand to press appropriate strings against the frets of the instrument to raise or lower their pitch. Alternatively, the player may use the slide hand (which otherwise would be the fretting hand) to contact a solid object to the strings to modify their pitch, instead of pressing the strings against the frets. The solid object, known as a "slide", generally has the effect of a movable fret whose position along the length of the string determines the pitch of the string, but there are important differences. The slide allows a continuous range of sounds to be produced from each string, rather than the fixed sounds obtained when only a fret is used.
Various types of slides which are worn on the slide hand have been developed. These slides usually take the form of a ring or other structure that is worn on one finger of the slide hand, with a projection from the ring which is controllably contacted to the strings to perform the slide function. In a basic form, the slide projection is simply a tube, but this version prevents the player from playing in the conventional manner unless the player stops to remove the slide projection from the finger. More advanced slide implements, which allow the uninterrupted alternating use of the slide and conventional playing, are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,638,525; 3,854,368; 4,817,488; and 5,492,046, whose disclosures are incorporated by reference. In some approaches, the slide is relatively stationary on the hand of the player. In others, as shown in FIGS. 11-16 of the '046 patent, the slide implement may be rotated to different positions around the circumference of the finger to permit the slide implement to be used in various ways or moved out of the way and not used, depending upon the playing requirements of the moment.
While the slides described in the referenced patents and available commercially are operable to various degrees, they all are rather inconvenient to use. The tab 40 found on the slide of the '046 patent aids in rotating the slide implement, but it is somewhat awkward to use during actual playing of the instrument and requires the use of a second finger to effect rotation. Other slides require the use of two fingers to support and stabilize the slide, also reducing the number of fingers available to perform other functions such as damping of the strings.
There is, accordingly, a need for an improved approach to the structure and use of a slide employed in the playing of a stringed instrument. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.